The library was empty except for one desk nestled in the corner, illuminated by a lamp nailed to the wooden tabletop. The yellow light emanating from lamp cast a sleepy glow across the pages of a tattered book about myths and legends as Lee struggled to keep her eyes open. Sleep clung to her eyes and hurt like a salty sting with every line she finished.
For the past month Lee had been holed up in this small town trying to find information about angels. The town's library was noted somewhere in her father's old journal about how abundant it was in specialized books. There were always urban myths about how the library housed dark and dangerous information.
She sighed and rubbed the crust out of the corners of her eyes, only to shrink back into her seat once noticing the eternal emptiness around her. In the distance, she heard the rhythmic thump as a librarian stamped checked in books. The clock on the wall said seven thirty and Lee's stomach grumbled, reminding her that she had not eaten since the early morning.
Lee began to gather her things and the stack of books was nearly too much for her to handle as they threatened to spill over and rip from their binding. She slammed them down at the front desk, startling the librarian. Her glasses nearly fell off her petite nose from jerking her head at the echoing sound. Lee chuckled as the librarian smoothed her hair back into their usual short, curly coif.
"Hey, Sarah, I think these will do," Lee said as the librarian prepared to scan her items, but not without first giving a look of annoyance.
"You've been staying here a lot lately," Sarah noted, peeking up through her cat-eye rimmed glasses, "And such a… peculiar taste…" Sarah frowned with a raised eyebrow while reading the title 'Angel Lore: Abilities, Wars, and Common Misconceptions'.
"Nothin' wrong with being curious," Lee said with a defensive tone. There had been many close encounters with unwanted demonic guests in the past few months since Lee left with Dean standing in her rear view mirror.
Needless to say, Lee had grown overly cautious. Her abilities to sense the unnatural had increased significantly. Nothing seemed off with Sarah, but that didn't stop her hand from twitching and wanting to grab the specially made dagger that Lee always had secured in her boot.
It was a six-inch dagger fused with iron and silver, mixed with layers of salt. Every Sunday Lee made sure to have it blessed and dipped in holy water at any church that happened to be nearby.
The second Sarah had finished stamping the due dates, Lee fled for the door trying to ignore the growing prickling sensation crawling up her neck. She let out a frustrated cry, once in the safety of her car, and stuffed her face into her hands. The growing power of her blessing allowed her to pick up the mind of a demon from two blocks away, but it was not always accurate.
Lee had grown to be paranoid and often mixed up signals from a normal person as something demonic. Certain demons were stronger than others and able to hide their appearance from her or scramble the signals. Just last week, Lee pulled her knife on an innocent pizza delivery boy and caused him to crap his pants in fear. What Lee was blessed with needed a calm and centered mind to control, and she was not at a point in life that allowed her that luxury.
A low beep pulled Lee out of her self pity and she reached for her cell phone. She squinted in the blinding light and struggled to read the pixelated words: 1 new message. Lee didn't have to look at the name to know that it was a voicemail from Dean.
Initially she had kept her promise to keep in contact with the Winchester brothers, but it soon fell off her list of priorities after running around in circles trying to find information about angels.
By the time she arrived at her motel room, Lee grew fearful of what Dean had to say. Minutes passed and Lee continued to stare at the screen, deciding to wait until she got to her motel room before listening. This sudden contact was a surprise to Lee since she knew that the coming apocalypse had been taking a toll on the brothers. Sprawled across the musty bed in a ratty motel room just off the major highway, she pressed the phone to her ear and began listening to the voicemail.
"Hey Lee, it's been awhile…Listen, I don't know if you've noticed any increase in demon activity but I'm calling to warn you that shit will hit the fan. Sa –uh, the apocalypse… We couldn't stop it. Apparently the angels wanted this to happen. I know you're on your own quest, but just keep a low profile and don't trust any angel except for Cas."
Lee lay motionless as she tried to process what was being said. The tone of panic was unmistakable in Dean's message. Lucifer had risen and even more demons could be out there gunning for her head.
"What if Lucifer knows about me?" She whispered, lying frozen in a catatonic state. "My family?"
"Don't hesitate to call, okay? Bye." Beep.
Lee sat up and chucked the phone at the wall. It fell unbroken and Lee proceeded to shove all her books onto the floor. Pain stabbed her behind the eyes like an ice pick and her legs gave way beneath her. On the floor, Lee gasped in pain and curled into the fetal position on the floor clutching her face.
The pain had not subsided but Lee pushed herself to grab a bag of salt and pour sloppy lines all around the room. Lee fished for her dagger and held it in a shaky hand up in front of her. Clenching her teeth, Lee pushed with her feet until her back hit the wall and everything was in view.
Lee could feel them, all those demons possessing innocent people. One was downtown. A group of them just passing through. She tried counting to three and breathing deeply but nothing could calm her down.
"Stop it!" Lee choked out, "You're hysterical!"
She thumped her head against the wall. A burn welled in her throat, constricting and pushing out all the air from her lungs, and threatened to release a hurricane of pent up fear.
The knife slipped from her fingers and she watched as it pinged off the floor in slow motion. Lee followed the tip of the blade as it pointed to a strewn book nearby. Her fingers fumbled the fanning cardboard peeking out from the unraveling and faded thread of the tattered book cover.
The pages crunched against the avocado motel carpeting and out spilled a pamphlet that a previous library patron had used as a bookmark. Curious allowed Lee to gulp back her fear where it waited in a corner for another opportunity.
"Salem State University offering open enrollment for their accelerated Bachelors of Science in Nursing Program," Lee read aloud, "A sixteen month program beginning this fall…"
The next morning Lee found herself drooling against the motel wall. Holding the urge to vomit, she peeled her cheek from the outdated wallpaper and cringed at the sticking sound it made. Salt was scattered everywhere and the library books were bent at shivering angles in a cluttered heap.
After grabbing a cup of coffee at the local diner, Lee sped off back to the library to claim her usual spot. The library door mirrored her reflection and Lee froze upon seeing it. Muddy and sunken in eyes stared back at her. Lee frowned and couldn't even remember the last time she brushed her hair at the sight of the abundant tangles.
Lee gave a friendly nod to Sarah while keeping her eyes glued to the floor and running a hand through her hair. At her desk she began leafing though books for more clues on how to track an angel.
All she had learned was what she'd already known. Their abilities, vulnerabilities, how they gain vessels and are apart of garrisons… Nothing told Lee how to find an angel except by praying. Even then, angels are not bound by magical means to answer a prayer in person.
Lee pulled out the nursing school pamphlet she saw the night before. Contemplating about just throwing it away, she tucked it into her pocket with a shoulder shrug.
Something caught Lee's eyes as she flipped through the pages of another book. "There are certain way to remain undetected from the angels and other supernatural entities…" She muttered, her eyes darting across the pages. "Some believe that certain symbols can disguise a soul's identity to a certain extent… In the Native American culture, they believe that their spirit animals, or guardians, have the ability to protect the souls they are bound to. As a result, many created tattoos of their guardians, enhanced with symbols of protection, as a way to hide themselves from ghosts and spirits…"
Lee stopped reading and slammed the book shut. Nearby patrons threw her dirty looks but she paid little attention. Lee raced to Sarah at the front desk, "Where's the nearest tattoo parlor in this town?"
Sarah's eyebrow flew up and nearly disappeared into her hair, "A tattoo parlor? Down on Harbor Street. Just head east and make a left at Pandolf Avenue… It'll be on the right!" Lee was already halfway out the door, leaving Sarah stunned and wide eyed.
Nestled on the corner of Harbor and Pandolf was a small tattoo parlor with a flashing neon open sign. The windows were tinted black and plastered with various posters and stickers of bands. The door was a metal screen that squealed open. A bell attached to the door jiggled and signaled her arrival.
The man at the front desk looked up with an unfocused gaze. He looked younger than Lee and his eyes were lined with smudged black liner. "Can I help you?" He asked in a drawn out voice.
"I'd like a tattoo," Lee stated and clutched her bag a little tighter when he only stared back in response.
"Well what do you want done?" He asked after a minute of unblinking silence.
"Uh," Lee scrambled in her bag to find scratch paper and a pen, "Somethin' like this." She pushed forward the paper with a quickly scribbled design she decided on while on her way from the library.
He fixed Lee a lazy gaze before looking at the paper. "So you want the face of a bear in the shape of a bear paw? What's this thing on it's forehead?"
"It's a sacred symbol," Lee said with a roll of her eyes, "Can you do it or not?"
"Yeah I can do it," He said and threw the paper down onto the counter, "Just give me 20 minutes to sketch it out and I'll be ready to go."
Lee shuffled to an empty chair by the blacked out windows. One leg was shorter than the rest and was tilting to different sides. The shop was silent except for the faint scratching as what Lee assumed was the tattoo artist drew the design.
"Come to the back room," Lee jumped at the sudden outburst and quickly followed in suit.
Inside the room sat a dentist chair that looked like it came straight from the depths of a gothic teen's wet dream. All black and with multiple studs sharpened to a point, chains hanging of the back and connecting the armrest. Lee eased her self into the chair but hugged her arms as if they would fly off her body.
"This is your first tattoo I assume?" The guy asked. Lee nodded and continued to squirm and find a comfortable position in her seat, "Look, I'm Harold. It's gonna hurt but you'll live." He said trying to alleviate her hesitation.
Harold held up a piece of tracing paper with the design in front of Lee, "Where you want it?"
Lee slipped the sleeve of her shirt off her left shoulder and it down gently so as not to reveal anything, "Right there over my heart," She pointed. Harold pressed the paper and the ink transferred to her skin. Lee heard him breathe in sharply and fixed him a fierce glare, "Don't even think about tryin' to pull any funny business, boy."
"Yes ma'am," Harold stammered with reddening cheeks.
Several hours later, Harold held up a mirror for Lee to inspect the tattoo. It was a bear paw with an overall tribal design aesthetic and the face of a roaring grizzly bear designed as the palm area. Lee gingerly traced around it, careful not to directly touch the angry and inflamed area.
"It's perfect," Lee smiled and noted the clean detail of the most important part: the protection symbol.
Author's Note: It's been longer than I anticipated to post this new chapter. Thank to all who've reviewed this story! I have then next chapter planned and plan to post it soon but then it's going to be a while for future chapters because I need to sort out a few more story details. Plus, I've started a summer job and only get one day off a week :(
But again, I appreciate all the support and just knowing people are actually reading this!